Oct. 8, 2011
Final Stats
TULSA, Okla. - Seniors Dennis Nevolo and Roy Kalmanovich fell in the quarterfinals of the ITA All-American Championships Saturday at the University of Tulsa's Case Tennis Center. Illinois was the only squad with two players among the final eight.
"I'm really proud of our boys," Illini head coach Brad Dancer said. "Stephen (Hoh), Dennis and Roy gave great efforts all weekend and came away with different things in the tournament. I was really impressed with Roy. It was his seventh match in six days, and I just thought that his energy was the best today that it's been all tournament. He played with tremendous energy and resiliency out there. He played a great match and had a couple of chances to win it in the second and a couple more in the third. There's no question that it was a huge letdown that he couldn't capitalize on that, but it was a great effort and I'm really proud of him."
Kalmanovich, No. 71 in the preseason rankings, took on his sixth ranked opponent in six days. He was the only athlete left who played his way to the main draw through the qualifying rounds earlier this week. This time, the Framingham, Mass., native could not pull off the upset. Kalmanovich battled the entire match but came up just short in his final set, losing a 2-6, 7-6(9), 7-5 heartbreaker to No. 17 Costin Paval of Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, No. 7 Nevolo got off to a slow start, dropping his first set to Virginia's Mitchell Frank, the top-ranked freshman in the nation. The Gurnee, Ill., native battled back to take the second set but could not fully recover, falling 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 in his first singles loss of the season.
"Dennis made a little bit of a tactical error and it cost him at the beginning of the third set," Dancer said. "He was unable to recover, which was too bad. Overall, I think Dennis' transition play was a big improvement. It is a good foundation for him to build on. He incorporated that today, and we've been working on it for years, so it was really exciting to see."
By advancing to the quarterfinals, both Illini clinched automatic entry to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, which will take place Nov. 3-6 in Flushing, N.Y.
The Orange and Blue will return to action at the ITA Midwest Regionals, Oct. 13-16 in Columbus, Ohio.
All-American Championships Quarterfinals - Illini Results
#17 Costin Paval (Oklahoma) def. #71 Roy Kalmanovich, 2-6, 7-6(9), 7-5
Mitchell Frank (Virginia) def. #7 Dennis Nevolo, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
